Theodora Actress Empress Whore

Author : Stella Duffy
Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 1101552662
Total Pages : 279 pages
Book Rating : 4.67/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Theodora: Actress, Empress, Whore written by Stella Duffy and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2011-09-27 with total page 279 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A bravura performance: a witty, moving, sexy book that bursts with as much color and excitement as the city of Constantinople itself." -Financial Times Roman historian Procopius publicly praised Theodora of Constantinople for her piety-while secretly detailing her salacious stage act and maligning her as ruthless and power hungry. So who was this woman who rose from humble beginnings as a dancer to become the empress of Rome and a saint in the Orthodox Church? Award-winning novelist Stella Duffy vividly recreates the life and times of a woman who left her mark on one of the ancient world's most powerful empires. Theodora: Actress, Empress, Whore is a sexy, captivating novel that resurrects an extraordinary, little-known figure from the dusty pages of history.

Author : Stella Duffy
Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 1101603739
Total Pages : 397 pages
Book Rating : 4.34/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Purple Shroud written by Stella Duffy and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2012-09-25 with total page 397 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Theodora: Actress, Empress, Whore, Stella Duffy's chronicle of this amazing woman's early years, delighted readers with its exquisite blend of historical detail and vivid storytelling. Now, The Purple Shroud chronicles Theodora at the height of her power, bringing the ancient world alive in another unforgettable, epic saga. Theodora and Justinian have been crowned Emperor and Empress, but ruling an empire is no easy task. The two factions of Christianity are still battling for dogmatic supremacy, the Empire's borders are not secure, and Theodora worries about the ambitions of Justinian's two best generals. But the most pressing concern is close to home: Constantinople's two factions, the Blues and the Greens, are beginning to unite in their unhappiness with rising taxes. When that unhappiness spills over into all-out violence, thousands are killed (including someone very close to Theodora) and many of the City's landmarks are destroyed, including Theodora's beloved Hagia Sophia. In the aftermath of the riots, Theodora guides Justinian in gaining back the love and trust of the people, her unerring instinct for what the people want proving invaluable. Justinian promises to rebuild the Hagia Sophia to be even more spectacular than before. Theodora comes to realize that being the Augusta is simply another role she must play, though the stakes are much higher and there is no offstage. It's a role she was born to play.

Author : Stella Duffy
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781101551837
Total Pages : 339 pages
Book Rating : 4.36/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Theodora written by Stella Duffy and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 339 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Theodora of Constantinople started as an actress and prostitute and rose to become the empress of Rome and a saint in the Orthodox Church. Roman historian Procopius publicly praised her piety and saintliness while his Secret History gave salacious details of her stage act and maligned her as ruthless and power hungry. So who was Theodora? Feisty and quick-witted, by the time she was fifteen she was both a mother and the biggest star of the Hippodrome. And that was only the beginning. A legend in her own time but forgotten by history, Theodora was a mesmerizing and extraordinary woman who quickly learned the art of survival- and went on to leave her mark as one of the ancient world's most powerful empires.--From back cover.

Author : David Potter
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0199392390
Total Pages : 272 pages
Book Rating : 4.91/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Theodora written by David Potter and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2015-10-07 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Two of the most famous mosaics from the ancient world, in the church of San Vitale in Ravenna, depict the sixth-century emperor Justinian and, on the wall facing him, his wife, Theodora (497-548). This majestic portrait gives no inkling of Theodora's very humble beginnings or her improbable rise to fame and power. Raised in a family of circus performers near Constantinople's Hippodrome, she abandoned a successful acting career in her late teens to follow a lover whom she was legally forbidden to marry. When he left her, she was a single mother who built a new life for herself as a secret agent, in which role she met the heir to the throne. To the shock of the ruling elite, the two were married, and when Justinian assumed power in 527, they ruled the Eastern Roman Empire together. Their reign was the most celebrated in Byzantine history, bringing wealth, prestige, and even Rome itself back to the Empire. Theodora was one of the dominant political figures of her era, helping shape imperial foreign and domestic policy and twice saving her husband from threatened deposition. She played a central role trying to solve the religious disputes of her era and proactively assisted women who were being trafficked. An extraordinarily able politician, she excited admiration and hatred from those around her. Enemies wrote extensively and imaginatively about her presumed early career as a prostitute, while supporters elevated her, quite literally, to sainthood. Theodora's is a tale of a woman of exceptional talent who overcame immense obstacles to achieve incredible power, which she exercised without ever forgetting where she had come from. In Theodora: Actress, Empress, Saint, David Potter penetrates the highly biased accounts of her found in the writings of her contemporaries and takes advantage of the latest research on early Byzantium to craft a modern, well-rounded, and engaging narrative of Theodora's life. This fascinating portrait will intrigue all readers with an interest in ancient and women's history.

Author : Paolo Cesaretti
Publisher : Abrams
ISBN 13 : 0865652805
Total Pages : 524 pages
Book Rating : 4.04/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Theodora written by Paolo Cesaretti and published by Abrams. This book was released on 2012-02-01 with total page 524 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An Italian historian’s prize-winning biography of the sixth-century Byzantine empress. Theodora of Byzantium rose from humble beginnings to become one of the most powerful women of the ancient world. As the wife of Emperor Justinian, she was more than a mere figurehead, acting as Justinian’s partner in both politics and life. Though she was ruthlessly criticized by her contemporaries, historian and biographer Paolo Cesaretti shows her to be an ambitious woman and brilliant ruler whose cunning saved the empire time and again. She defied the conventions of her time and triumphed over those who sought to defame and destroy her. This meticulously researched and richly detailed biography won Italy’s prestigious Ginzano Cavour Prize.

Author : Procopius
Publisher : Cosimo, Inc.
ISBN 13 : 1602065381
Total Pages : 153 pages
Book Rating : 4.83/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Secret History written by Procopius and published by Cosimo, Inc.. This book was released on 2007-06-01 with total page 153 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Author : Stephanie Thornton
Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 1101607661
Total Pages : 450 pages
Book Rating : 4.64/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Secret History written by Stephanie Thornton and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2013-07-02 with total page 450 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Where Theodora went, trouble followed…. In sixth-century Constantinople, one woman, Theodora, defied every convention and all the odds and rose from common theater tart to empress of a great kingdom, the most powerful woman the Roman Empire would ever know. The woman whose image was later immortalized in glittering mosaic was a scrappy, clever, conniving, flesh-and-blood woman full of sensuality and spirit whose real story is as surprising as any ever told…. After her father dies suddenly, Theodora and her sisters face starvation and a life on the streets. Determined to survive, Theodora makes a living any way she can—first on her back with every man who will have her, then on the stage in a scandalous dramatization of her own invention. When her daring performance grants her a backdoor entry into the halls of power, she seizes the chance to win a wealthy protector—only to face heartbreak and betrayal. Ever resilient, Theodora rises above such trials and, by a twist of fate, meets her most passionate admirer yet: the emperor’s nephew. She thrives as his confidant and courtesan, but many challenges lie ahead. For one day this man will hand her a crown. And all the empire will wonder—is she bold enough, shrewd enough, and strong enough to keep it? READERS GUIDE INCLUDED

Author : Jean Plaidy
Publisher : Crown
ISBN 13 : 0307498522
Total Pages : 578 pages
Book Rating : 4.26/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Victoria Victorious written by Jean Plaidy and published by Crown. This book was released on 2009-02-19 with total page 578 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this unforgettable novel of Queen Victoria, Jean Plaidy re-creates a remarkable life filled with romance, triumph, and tragedy. At birth, Princess Victoria was fourth in line for the throne of England, the often-overlooked daughter of a prince who died shortly after her birth. She and her mother lived in genteel poverty for most of her childhood, exiled from court because of her mother’s dislike of her uncles, George IV and William IV. A strong, willful child, Victoria was determined not to be stifled by her powerful uncles or her unpopular, controlling mother. Then one morning, at the age of eighteen, Princess Victoria awoke to the news of her uncle William’s death. The almost-forgotten princess was now Queen of England. Even better, she was finally free of her mother’s iron hand and her uncles’ manipulations. Her first act as queen was to demand that she be given a room—and a bed—of her own. Victoria’s marriage to her German cousin, Prince Albert, was a blissfully happy one that produced nine children. Albert was her constant companion and one of her most trusted advisors. Victoria’s grief after Prince Albert’s untimely death was so shattering that for the rest of her life—nearly forty years—she dressed only in black. She survived several assassination attempts, and during her reign England’s empire expanded around the globe until it touched every continent in the world. Derided as a mere “girl queen” at her coronation, by the end of her sixty-four-year reign, Victoria embodied the glory of the British Empire. In this novel, written as a “memoir” by Victoria herself, she emerges as truthful, sentimental, and essentially human—both a lovable woman and a great queen.

Author : Douglas A. Burton
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781733022132
Total Pages : 394 pages
Book Rating : 4.39/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Far Away Bird written by Douglas A. Burton and published by . This book was released on 2020-10-06 with total page 394 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Inspired by true events, Far Away Bird delves into the complex mind of Byzantine Empress Theodora. This intimate account deftly follows her rise from actress-prostitute in Constantinople's red-light district to the throne of the Byzantine Empire. Her salacious past has left historians blushing and uncomfortable. Tales of her shamelessness have survived for centuries, and yet her accomplishments as an empress are unparalleled. Theodora goes on to influence sweeping reforms that result in some of the first-ever Western laws granting women freedom and protection. More than a millennium before the women's rights movement, Theodora, alone, took on the world's greatest superpower and succeeded. Far Away Bird goes where history classrooms fear to tread in hopes that Theodora can finally take her seat among the greatest women in history. Theodora seems impossible--yet her transcendence teaches us that society can't tell us who we are deep down. Before there was a legendary empress, there was a conflicted young woman from the lower classes. And her name was Theodora.

Author : James Allan Evans
Publisher : University of Texas Press
ISBN 13 : 0292702701
Total Pages : 173 pages
Book Rating : 4.07/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Empress Theodora written by James Allan Evans and published by University of Texas Press. This book was released on 2003-10-01 with total page 173 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Presents a biography of the burlesqe actress who became the trusted partner of Byzantine emperor Justinian in both marriage and government affairs.